Study of Subsea Volcanoes Aims to Improve Event Forecasting
Scientists from the UK’s National Oceanography Centre (NOC) have led an international team on an expedition in and around Santorini, Greece, to enhance forecasting ability for subsea volcanic eruptions.Hundreds of the most dangerous volcanoes on Earth are found in the ocean, but almost none are monitored, making the hazards for nearby coastal communities and critical infrastructure difficult to forecast.In the ocean, the explosivity of eruptions is complicated by interactions with seawater and fluids circulating through volcanoes, making them even more unpredictable.Using advanced underwater
NOC AUVs To Boost Portugal Ocean Science Research
A leading European research, technology and innovation organization has chosen underwater robotics from the UK’s National Oceanography Centre (NOC) to help advance its marine research capabilities.The agreement will see Madeira Island’s Regional Agency for the Development of Research, Technology and Innovation, ARDITI, acquire two NOC Autosub Long Range (ALR) autonomous underwater vehicles, for use in ocean science offshore Portugal and beyond.NOC’s ALRs can significantly advance ocean research supporting unprecedented data collection capabilities, from mapping to marine biogeochemical
Trump Moves to More Easily Fire NOAA, DOE Employees
The Trump administration has begun the process of reclassifying workers at some agencies to a new job category with fewer protections, according to two sources familiar with the situation and an email seen by Reuters.The moves, which the sources said are taking place at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Department of Energy, are the first evidence the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is following through on a plan announced in his first day in office to recategorize tens of thousands of government workers to facilitate layoffs and remove career civil servants
CSIRO Science Ship Takes Students on Tasmanian Circumnavigation
to surveys of deep-sea ecosystems and marine life.Students will be involved in seafloor mapping and sediment sampling, and will also participate in the search for a historic shipwreck off the northwest coast of Tasmania.CAPSTAN students' background studies range from biological and chemical oceanography to geoscience and engineering. Women make up two thirds of students on the voyage.The voyage is the first in the CAPSTAN program following the completion of a pilot program during 2017 to 2020.Two more CAPSTAN training voyages are planned in the upcoming voyage schedules of RV Investigator
Complex Data Frameworks Hamper Early Career Ocean Professionals
In an article published in Frontiers of Marine Science, Dr Anabel von Jackowski from CNRS/Sorbonne Université in France aims to provide better support for early career ocean professionals.Ocean observations from sources such as satellites, vehicle and ship-based measurements and animal tagging feed into networks that either focus on obtaining data, e.g., similar instruments, or a social focus that aims to connect participants, e.g., early career or science-policy interface.These platforms and associated networks feed into the Framework for Ocean Observing (FOO) with a set of Essential Ocean
Dancing Krill
Chase, probe, embrace, flex, push. It’s probably too much information, but that is how krill mate.The behavior was recorded on a deepsea camera 500 meters below the surface of the Southern Ocean back in 2011 by Australian Antarctic Division researchers – who then made an animated illustration of this special “dance.”Krill can change from adults to juveniles, and they can survive over 200 days of starvation, reducing their size by using their own body proteins rather than molting their exoskeleton.They are known for being an important food source for whales, seals and penguins
The Power of Scientific Collaboration is Perennial
;Science is a collaborative effort. The combined results of several people working together is often much more effective than could be that of an individual scientist working alone.”That power proved itself again this week.Scientists from the University of Athens and the UK’s National Oceanography Center made a leap forward in understanding algal blooms. They were able to link an unprecedented marine algal bloom to an influx of nutrient-containing dust blown over the Indian Ocean from South Africa.Data from the European Space agency (ESA) was critical to the discovery. Multiple sets of
TDI-Brooks Delivers Deepwater Atlantic Habitats II Report
TDI-Brooks has announced that the report for Contract M17PC00009, issued by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is available online.The report is titled “Deepwater Atlantic Habitats II: Continued Atlantic Research and Exploration in Deepwater Ecosystems with Focus on Coral, Canyon and Seep Communities.” It is the final deliverable of the BOEM Contract called Deep SEARCH, conducted in partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey.Initially, the study was a five-year, collaborative scientific research program focused on the outer continental shelf
EOMAP Contracted for Shallow Water Bathymetry
Coastal zones, at the interface of land and ocean, are of tremendous social, economic, and ecological value: About 40% of the world population is currently living within 100 km of the coast, with three quarters of all large cities being situated along coastlines. Together with its partners Deltares and GGS Geo Consultancy (GGSgc), team lead EOMAP will now provide global coastal bathymetric data to fill this knowledge gap. Bathymetry, the underwater topography, is a key environmental parameter for a wide range of coastal applications, such as modelling and hazard assessment, seafloor
February 2025
